Farooque Bakaly is the immediate-past chairman of
Council of Karachi’s Industrial Association (CKIA), the
representative body of five officially recognised industrial areas of
Karachi, the biggest cluster of industries in the country housing some
14,000 units of all shapes and sizes. He was also elected the chairman
of Federal B Area Association of Trade and Industry, one of the five
industrial areas where he owns and operates a packaging unit, in
1998-99. After he did his Bachelors in Science (B.Sc) from Karachi, he
proceeded to the US and did his BS from Florida University. He later
did his Masters in Arts from Karachi University. His association with
CKIA and F.B. Area Association of Trade and Industry in various
capacities over the years has matured him into a soft-spoken critic of
Karachi’s industry and trade with particular reference to exports,
the primary activity of the majority of units in these five industrial
areas.

PAGE: Would you like to comment on the
impact of substantial increase in power tariff during last few years
on the industrial activities in Karachi?

Farooque Bakaly: While there is no denying
the fact that power tariffs are on the high side in Pakistan, the
Karachi-based industries are more worried about the un-uniform tariff
compared to their counterparts in the other parts of the country. The
Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) is demanding Rs 3,000 per
kilowatt hour in security deposit and another Rs 3,500 per kilowatt
hour in System Development charges’ from the power consumers in
Karachi. On the other hand, the Water and Power Development Authority
responsible for power generation and distribution for the rest of the
country, is charging less than Rs 1,000 for both the security deposit
and ‘system development charges’ combined. Thus the industrial,
commercial and residential consumers of Karachi are made to pay
six-and-half-fold more charges than their counterparts elsewhere in
the country. My contention is that Karachi should not be treated any
differently than the rest of the country and, thus, should not be
subjected to a more pricey power tariff. It is only fair that power
tariffs across the country, including Karachi, should be subjected to
uniform rates.

PAGE: Are you satisfied with the stay
granted to 109 power consumers against this KESC practise?

Farooque Bakaly: It is heartening to see
that the Sindh High Court has granted a stay order in favour of the
109 plaintiffs against the KESC. However, I feel the decision would
provide only temporary relief to the power consumers of Karachi as
KESC would definitely appeal the stay. For the time being, however,
the power consumers of Karachi do feel relieved as the legal victory
of 109 industrial units automatically means relief to all other
consumers irrespective of category and usage.

PAGE: The acute shortage of water is also
hurting industrial activities in Karachi. Your comments please?

Farooque Bakaly: Years of dry spell have
certainly taken a heavy toll on the industrial activities in Karachi
like elsewhere in the country. Besides, the water billing is based on
‘Net Annual Rental Value’ instead on the much more fair basis of
actual consumption. While this is true for all categories of water
users — be it residential, commercial or industrial — it is utmost
unfair to the industries as consumption of water varies from industry
to industry. For instance, I am associated with the packaging industry
which does not require and consume large quantities of water like many
other industries. However, basing the water billing on ‘net annual
rental value’ means that I have to absorb huge water bills despite
low consumption. This is highly unjustified and it is only fair that
water billing should be consumption-based, after all you cannot treat
industries which consume comparatively less water at par with those
which requires vast quantities of water for the purpose of billing. An
apt solution to solve the problem is to install water meters, like
those for electricity and gas consumption.

PAGE: What you feel are the major problems
of the industries in Karachi?

Farooque Bakaly: The five industrial areas
of Karachi house some 14,000 units of all description and sizes. They
employ hundreds of thousands of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled
persons. They support another hundreds of thousands of persons
indirectly. The rising prices of such basic inputs as power, gas,
water, petroleum, etc., have pushed production costs thus rendering
our products incompetitive in the international markets. Any further
increase in power prices would prove to be the proverbial "last
straw on the camel’s back", The power prices have already
touched the breaking point. In addition, there is an acute lack of
infrastructure facilities at the industrial areas while the existing
facilities lacks the maintenance needed to achieve satisfactory, if
not optimal, productivity. Whatever little development is taking
place, is made possible from private sector’s own initiatives and
resources.